A report conducted by the World Bank and the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre, has projected that Angola’s capital, Luanda,will overtake Lagos as sub-Saharan Africa’s most populous city by 2050, rising by 78 percent from 11.4 million to 20.3 million.

The report titled ‘Sub-Saharan Africa’s Urban Awakening: Catalyzing Economic Growth and Job Creation’, also calculated that sub-Saharan Africa’s urban population will increase by 748 million between 2025 and 2050, reaching about 1.7 billion.

The report estimated that Luanda’s population would increase from 11.4 million in 2025 to 20.3 million in 2050, adding 8.9 million residents over the period.

Lagos, the region’s most populous city in 2025 with an estimated 12.8 million residents, is projected to grow to 16.2 million by 2050, an increase of more than 25 percent.

Despite the growth, Lagos is expected to fall behind Luanda, whose population is projected to exceed that of Nigeria’s commercial hub by 4.1 million.

“Over this period, the population of Angola’s capital city, Luanda, is projected to increase by 78 percent from 11.4 million to 20.3 million.

In doing so, Luanda will overtake Lagos as SSA’s most populous city,” the report said.

Photo: President Tinubu I Makkah

President Bola Tinubu on Friday commenced performing Umrah at Makkah in Saudi Arabia, praying for the nation and for every Nigerian to live in peace and harmony.

Tinubu on Thursday evening arrived in Saudi Arabia, landing at the King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah.

He was received by Nigeria’s ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Yakubu Gambo, and the Saudi head of royal protocol Ahmad bin Thafir.

Thursday’s trip marks the second time Tinubu has travelled to Makkah to perform Umrah since assuming office on May 29, 2023.

President Tinubu visited the holy city in November 2023, shortly after attending the Saudi-African Summit in Riyadh, where he also prayed for divine guidance in leading Nigeria.

The latest trip is part of a series of foreign engagements undertaken by Tinubu since becoming president. He has visited more than 30 countries in over 50 unique and recurring trips.

The President is expected to return to Nigeria next week after completing the religious exercise.

Senate Leader Opeyemi Bamidele has expressed conviction that the proposed state police will be ready on or before December 2026, given that 30 State Houses of Assembly have officially approved the State Police Constitution Alteration Bill, 2026.

Speaking on the Bill on Thursday, the Leader of the Senate declared that multi-tier policing in Nigeria has moved from a recurring political promise into an actionable constitutional reality.

Bamidele, who also serves as the Vice Chairman of the Senate Committee on the Review of the 1999 Constitution, made the disclosure while delivering a paper at the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS), Kuru, Plateau State.

He addressed participants of the Senior Executive Course (SEC) 48 on the topic, “Improving the Efficiency and Effectiveness of Governance through Proactive Lawmaking.”

Highlighting the historic milestone, Bamidele explained that the 30 state approvals comfortably satisfy the two-thirds concurrency requirement mandated by Section 9(2) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended).